The Fall Of Your Garden: 4 Ways To Prevent Issues Now Autumn Is Here

Taking care of a garden is much harder than taking care of your home. Sure, your home has more rooms, more mess, and more things to tidy. But at least everything stays constantly at the same level throughout the year. Whether it’s summer, autumn, spring, or winter, your home will still require the same level of maintenance.

Your garden, however, is different in that it reacts to the seasons. Seasonal changes bring about different weather types, which have an impact on how you approach gardening. Spring and summer are great seasons for gardening as they’re normally where we see the right balance or sun and rain for a good few months. This is where most of the pretty flowers blossom, and our lawn looks luscious and green.

Then, autumn comes along and throws a big fat spanner in the works. Gone are the days of nice sunshine as we welcome colder, wetter, weather. As a consequence, we can expect to see a few problems in the garden during autumn and then moving into winter too. I’ve listed some things you can do to keep your garden in great shape and prevent issues from occurring during these months. Read them, apply them, and enjoy an amazing autumnal backyard:

Keep Up With Regular Lawn Maintenance

People are under the impression that lawn maintenance takes a backseat during fall. As a result, they usually end up with a long and scraggly lawn that’s full of weeds throughout the winter. Believe it or not, but the start of autumn can present prime lawn growth conditions for you. It’s not hot enough to dry out your lawn, and the rainfall increases, meaning the soil enjoys delicious water to help it grow.

Consequently, keeping up with regular lawn maintenance can ensure your lawn stays in great shape throughout the coldest months of the year. Firstly, fertilize your lawn, so it’s packed full of nutrients. As you can see on the Chem-Free Pest & Lawn website, there are lots of organic options without any chemicals to choose from. Getting a fertilizer like this means your lawn isn’t subjected to harmful chemicals that ruin it in the long run. Fertilize regularly, and your lawn will soon be nice and green.

Furthermore, you need to kill any weeds and cut your lawn as often as you can. The first thing is important here, as weeds can grow quickly in autumn. Not only that, but the weather can get worse and worse, restricting your time out in the garden. So, if you don’t kill the weeds now, they’ll soon get out of control.

Dispose Of Your Summer Flowers

It’s very sad to rip up and remove any flowers, particularly nice summer ones that look so pretty. Unfortunately, this is something you must do if you want your garden to look good during autumn and beyond.

You see, while the flowers may look gorgeous during the summer, they won’t look good during autumn. They bloom and blossom during the summer months because they’re best suited to the typical weather conditions of that season. So, when the temperature drops and the sun stops shining so bright, they don’t cope well. They start to die out, and you’re left with an ugly flowerbed full of dead crumbly flowers. Does that make your garden look good? Heck no! It’s much better to rip them up and have some fresh soil ready for more suitable plants.

This doesn’t mean your garden has to be completely bare during fall either, there are loads of plants that are suited to these weather conditions. Just look on sites like Gardener’s World, and you’ll find plenty of lists that show what plants you should have in your garden during autumn. At the end of the day, it’s simply a case of replacing seasonal plants with ones from a new season.

Wrap Up Your New Trees/Plants

If you’ve just started to grow some trees or plants in your garden, then autumn can be a troublesome period for them. Unlike fully grown trees/plants, they don’t respond well to the weather changes – particularly the drop in temperature. As such, steps need to be taken to ensure they’re protected until the weather gets warmer again.

The easiest thing to do is wrap up any recently developed trees or plants that may have started to grow. You’ve got two main methods of doing this, the first is to buy some tree wrapping tape and wrap it around your baby trees. I’m sure some of you are getting flashbacks to times you’ve walked past tiny trees that were wrapped up, and you wondered why they looked like mummies. Well, now you know the reason people do this, it’s to protect the poor things! The second method is easier and provides more robust protection from the elements. Instead of tape, you can get a plastic tree guard like the ones shown on the Agriculture Solutions website. This is really good for thin trees or plants that can break easily when it gets cold and windy.

Take care of your babies, or they will die during autumn and winter. They need to be completely protected, so they continue to grow and get stronger. It’s unlikely you’ll see crazy growth through autumn/winter, but they’ll be in a better position to start growing again come spring if they’re protected.

Care For Your Gardening Tools

It’s all well and good looking after your garden during autumn, but you can’t neglect your tools either. This time of year is known as rust-season in the tool land. When it gets colder and wetter, this makes rust more likely to occur. As a consequence, some of your best tools can be rendered useless if they’re not properly taken care of.

Some people can get away without really caring for their gardening tools too much during summer. If you accidentally leave a shovel or rake out overnight, it’s no big deal. Now, if you do this, it will be a big deal. So, there’s one tip already; keep things inside and covered when you’re not using them. If possible, get a little toolbox for all the handheld tools you have. They can stay in there when not in use, and they’re fully protected from the elements. As for the larger items, they need to stay inside, and you can get covers to protect them. Any gardening website will sell these covers, they act as cute little blankets for your tools.

It’s also essential you clean your tools after every use, no matter how little you use them. Leave any dirt on them, and it can freeze overnight and become encrusted on the tool. It only takes a few moments to wash your tools and dry them thoroughly. This simple task will keep them in the best condition possible and ensure you aren’t forking out loads of money on new gardening equipment.

As you can see, gardening in autumn will differ from gardening in summer. Sure, you can still plant a fair few autumnal plants and flowers, but this season is more about preparation and protection. It’s not the peak gardening season by any stretch of the imagination. The chances are you won’t be outside every weekend, particularly when autumn really gets going. It’s all about making sure you keep your garden in the best shape possible, so you don’t end up with an overgrown mess full of weeds come spring. Follow this advice, and you can help prevent the fall of your garden during autumn.